Prog vs. Punk: What was the nature of this?

A good analisys.   There's only one error: PFM didn't stop but released its own "Love Beach"es during the 80s but if you don't know those albums I'm happy for you.  

Punk rock and prog rock - and any subgenre for that matter - are essentially the same.

Both early ELP and Pistols on Never Mind The Bollocks were young, furious, biting and clutching, wanted to change something and move forward.

I don't care if music is simple or complex - I appreciate honesty.

I don't care for "prog for the sake of being prog" and modern, diluted pop-punk.

There was a time when jazz was excellent, furious and daring. These days, God save me from the another boring combo of Berklee Scholars.

Most working original/cover prog or rock bands touring small theatres in the 70's were pressured by managers, agents, and corporate staff to mend their ways,,,,(so to speak), at least that was the experience I had being part of that scene. That was in the United States and closer to the end of 79' when this all came about. Great musicians that had been playing the music scenes since the 60's....the ones I knew who had worked in higher corporate circles were angered, depressed, and took their own lives over this crap. It seems farce and too extreme for a majority of people in society to comprehend....so you had to be there like I was to understand exactly how and why on earth this could have happened in high numbers. I survived because I settled for playing good rock music and good prog in my chambers and remaining in the fast pace music business towing the line and selling out to what was relevant then. That was in the 80's when progressive rock bands were still performing in small theatres as I toured, but it sizzled out by the late 80's and sunk further to the underground when punk changed into "New Wave".

TODDLER wrote: the ones I knew who had worked in higher corporate circles were angered, depressed, and took their own lives over this crap.

timburlane wrote: And many punk artists were secret prog fans; Rotten/Lydon was a fan of Can and Van Der Graaf and later Kate Bush but they didn't talk about it because of the year zero thing.